2010s Haiti cholera outbreak

2010s Haiti cholera outbreak
Haiti
DateOctober 2010 – February 2019
LocationHaiti
Coordinates19°06′N 72°20′W / 19.100°N 72.333°W / 19.100; -72.333
CauseSuspected contamination by United Nations peacekeepers.[1][2]
Casualties
10,300 dead (all countries)
Haiti 9,794 dead (28 December 2017)[3]
Dominican Republic 503 dead (28 December 2017)[3]
Cuba 3 dead (18 October 2013)[4]
Mexico 1 dead (18 October 2013)[4]

Cases:
819,790 (Haiti)
33,342 (DR)
678 (Cuba)
190 (Mexico)

Cases recorded in:

The 2010s Haiti cholera outbreak was the first modern large-scale outbreak of cholera—a disease once considered beaten back largely due to the invention of modern sanitation. The disease was reintroduced to Haiti in October 2010, not long after the disastrous earthquake earlier that year, and since then cholera has spread across the country and become endemic, causing high levels of both morbidity and mortality.[5] Nearly 800,000 Haitians have been infected by cholera, and more than 9,000 have died, according to the United Nations (UN).[6] Cholera transmission in Haiti today[when?] is largely a function of eradication efforts including WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), education, oral vaccination,[7][8] and climate variability.[9] Early efforts were made to cover up the source of the epidemic, but thanks largely to the investigations of journalist Jonathan M. Katz and epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux,[10] it is widely believed to be the result of contamination by infected United Nations peacekeepers deployed from Nepal.[11] In terms of total infections, the outbreak has since been surpassed by the war-fueled 2016–2021 Yemen cholera outbreak, although the Haiti outbreak is still one of the most deadly modern outbreaks.[12] After a three-year hiatus, new cholera cases reappeared in October 2022.[13]

  1. ^ Katz JM (17 August 2016). "U.N. Admits Role in Cholera Epidemic in Haiti". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt160818 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Epidemiological Update Cholera 28 Dec 2017". paho.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Epidemiological Update Cholera 19 October 2013". WHO. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  5. ^ Piarroux R, Barrais R, Faucher B, Haus R, Piarroux M, Gaudart J, et al. (July 2011). "Understanding the cholera epidemic, Haiti". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 17 (7): 1161–8. doi:10.3201/eid1707.110059. PMC 3381400. PMID 21762567.
  6. ^ "New UN System Approach to Cholera in Haiti" (PDF). United Nations. December 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  7. ^ Gelting R, Bliss K, Patrick M, Lockhart G, Handzel T (October 2013). "Water, sanitation and hygiene in Haiti: past, present, and future". The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 89 (4): 665–670. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.13-0217. PMC 3795096. PMID 24106193.
  8. ^ Aibana O, Franke MF, Franke M, Teng JE, Teng J, Hilaire J, et al. (November 2013). "Cholera vaccination campaign contributes to improved knowledge regarding cholera and improved practice relevant to waterborne disease in rural Haiti". PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 7 (11): e2576. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002576. PMC 3837010. PMID 24278498.
  9. ^ Jutla A, Whitcombe E, Hasan N, Haley B, Akanda A, Huq A, et al. (September 2013). "Environmental factors influencing epidemic cholera". The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 89 (3): 597–607. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.12-0721. PMC 3771306. PMID 23897993.
  10. ^ Freichs RR (7 April 2016). Deadly River. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1501702303.
  11. ^ Katz JM (19 August 2016). "The U.N.'s Cholera Admission and What Comes Next". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  12. ^ "News Scan for Dec 21, 2017". umn.edu. 21 December 2017. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Haiti reports cholera deaths for first time in 3 years". AP NEWS. 2 October 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.